Watermelon Delight
by Elisa Dovane
Summary: After a hard battle, a mysterious stranger appears and tells the mews that there is another member to their team. Who is it? When they find her, they must band together to fight a battle for Tokyo, and for love.ITS DONE!please R&R! slight use of language
1. Prologue

Watermelon Delight

A short Fanfiv about Tokyo Mew Mew 

By Elisa Dovane

Sequel to Peachy Keen,

Also By Elisa Dovane

Note: Japanese translation

Anzu Peach

Suika Watermelon

Why did I use the Japanese terms instead? Answer: I thought they sounded better….and it's my story….so there….

In no way, shape or form do I own the rights to Tokyo Mew Mew or the American dub, Mew Mew Power

Yes, I know the chapters are short……no need to comment on that, lol.

Prologue

"Look out Mew Ichigo!" Mew Anzu yelled and pushed the cat-eared, pink clad girl out of the way of a direct hit from a Kirema Anima. Instead, Mew Anzu took the full effect of a ray of blue light and was immediately knocked unconscious.

" Mew Anzu!" Mew Ichigo yelled and tried to run to the girl, but her path was blocked by the gigantic form of the toughest Kirema Anima she and the Mew Mew Six had ever faced.

"Screeeeeeaaa!" The beast screeched, causing the super heroines to cover their ears in pain.

"How are we ever going to get rid of this thing!" Mew Mint yelled over the noise.

As if to answer her plea, Mew Anzu's limp form began to glow in the shadow of the beast and rise up into the air. The Kirema Anima stopped screeching and turned to face the girl who was now hovering in front of it.

"What the…?" Mew Zakuro began. But she and the other Mews had to cover their eyes, for now the light surrounding their teammate was so bright that they couldn't see. When the light dimmed a little they again looked at their formerly fallen teammate.

The girl who was once clad in a black and white battle costume similar to their own, was now standing upright and conscious. However her clothing had changed and now she was wearing a flowing white gown, complimented by colored ribbons that matched the other girls' outfits. They billowed around her, making the image like that of a dream.

"Who are you?" Mew Lettuce asked, awe and fear apparent in her voice.

" I am," the being began, "someone who has not been to earth in a long time. I am endless…in the air, water, fire, earth and spirit, just like all of you….My name is Mew Momokio, and I have something very important to tell you."

At this, the Kirema Anima standing behind her began to attack. At an unimaginable speed, the alien rushed at her but before it could even so much as get near her it disintegrated into nothingness.

"Oh my god." Mew Ichigo whispered.

" Dear Mews," Mew Momokio began in a gentle and echoing voice, "I have come to earth once again to inform you that there is one more who must join your number. You six will be tested, and fiercely, but do not fear…. for together you six will be unstoppable."

"Ooo, yeah!" Mew Pudding yelled, while jumping up and giving the white being a hug. "I always love new teammates!"

"Until you need me again though, I must leave." Mew Momokio said with a sad smile, softly patting the top of Pudding's head.

_When the light begins to fade/ and shadows fall across the sea/ one bright star in the evening sky/ your love's light leads me on my way/ there's a dream that will not sleep/ a burning hope that will not die/ so I must go now with the wind/ and leave you waiting on the tide_

"What!" The Mews asked, visibly distraught, Pudding most of all.

"Do not worry girls, I will always be with you." Mew Momokio said, and slowly faded away into the twilight sky.

_ time to fly, time to touch the sky/ one voice alone, a haunting cry/ one song, one star burning bright/ let it carry me through darkest night/ rain comes over the grey hills/ and on the air a soft goodbye/ hear the song that I sing to you/ when the time has come to fly/ when I leave and take the wing/ and find the land that fate will bring/ the brightest star in the evening sky/ is your love waiting far for me_

"No! Don't go!" Mew Ichigo heard herself yelling as her friend drifted away. The other girls turned to her and she noticed that she wasn't the only one who's vision was blurred by tears. Even Zakuro seemed to be torn up about the Mew leaving.

"I can't believe she's gone." Mew Ichigo whispered, wiping her eyes.

"What did she mean "Until you need me again?" Lettuce wondered out loud, her eyes still shiny with tears.

"I guess we'll find out when we find our new teammate." Mint said. "Until then, we should probably report back to Ryou and Keiichiro."

The song I put in this chapter is "The Soft Goodbye" and can be found on the 'Celtic Woman' CD or DVD I don't own rights to Celtic Woman either!


	2. Mew Who?

Chapter One 

Mew Who?

"So Mew Anzu wasn't really Mew Anzu? That's interesting." Ryou said, folding his arms behind his head. When they had gotten back at the pink and white café that served as their base, all of them spilled the story about what had happened to their comrade.

"Very interesting." Keiichiro said. "When I injected her with the panda DNA, I didn't expect her to react to it like this."

"Will this happen to any of us?" Lettuce asked worriedly.

"No, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. Anzu was a special project, so I made sure that what affected her wouldn't travel back to you." Keiichiro said kindly, giving Lettuce a smile that would reassure anyone.

"There's something else." Zakuro said, solemnly looking at the two gentlemen in front of her.

"That's right." Ichigo said quietly. " Mew Momokio said that there was another Mew out there somewhere. Do you know anything about that?" She asked them.

Ryou looked at Keiichiro seriously and Keiichiro gave him an equally serious stare. "No. Not at all." He said.

"Well then, I supposed she could be a naturally occurring Mew." Ryou said.

"What? What's that?" Pudding asked while doing a handstand on her giant ball.

"As you know, all of you girls contained a certain DNA sequence that allowed you to be fused with certain animals. The only explanation I can come up with is that this unidentified mew contains some dormant animal DNA. How she came to be like that, I have no idea, unless she is an alien, which I highly doubt." Keiichiro finished.

"An alien? Like Kish? And Tart?" Lettuce asked.

"No." Ryou said. "She could be an all new type of alien. But don't worry about it." He said. "Now all you guys have to be on the lookout for the new Mew. Listen in on conversations when you're waiting tables, and be ready for anything suspicious."

"Right! We'll find our friend!" Pudding shouted and began bouncing off the walls, literally.

"Go home right now girls, and be sure to get some rest." Keiichiro said.

"Yeah, none of you are of any use if you're tired. Of course some of you aren't any use when you're well rested either." He said, looking at Ichigo. Ichigo, however, didn't take the bait or reply to his teasing as she usually did. This immediately caught Ryou's attention and curious, he followed her out the door.

It wasn't until three blocks later that Ichigo noticed Ryou behind her.

"What do you want now?" She sighed, visibly exhausted.

"I want to know what's going on with you." He said simply.

"You want to know what's going on with me!" She yelled back at him, tears streaming unexpectedly from her eyes. "How's this? I just saw one of my teammates change into something else after saving my life! Now she tells me there's another Mew out there that I have to go find! It just keeps getting harder!" She yelled, her cheeks now wet and glistening with tears.

"I never said being a Mew Mew was going to be easy." Ryou said, his face blank of emotion, but his heart tearing inside. He positively hated it whenever Ichigo was distraught.

"I just don't think I can do this any longer." She whispered, tears continuing to flow silently down her cheeks.

Ryou, completely shocked, remained silent for a few seconds. "What's really wrong Ichigo?" He asked.

"Ryou…" Ichigo said, facing him "Ryou, Masaya's sick."

"What?" Ryou asked, a second wave of shock rolling over him. Ichigo knew how he felt about Masaya. Even though she didn't know how he felt about her, she had an idea of how he felt whenever she mentioned Masaya's name.

"Masaya's really sick. He has been for some time." Ichigo continued. "He's been to many different doctors, but they don't know what's wrong." She continued, sobbing. "He's in the hospital now, and has been for two weeks. I..I just don't know what to do."

"Umm, everything will be alright." Ryou said awkwardly, patting her shoulder.

"Really?" Ichigo asked looking into his sapphire blue eyes, wanting to believe him.

"Yeah, I'll have Keiichiro take a look at him." Ryou said, feeling a little relieved that Ichigo wasn't crying as much now. "You just worry about finding that new Mew. Leave everything else to me and Keiichiro."

"You know, you may be a pain sometimes, but you're a good person underneath." Ichigo said, wiping away her tears.

"I could say the same thing about you." Ryou retorted. "Now get on home." He said, and before she could reply, he turned around and walked back to the café. The sunlight glinted off his bright blonde hair, and Ichigo smiled. She had the best friends in the world.


	3. A Few Good Mews

Chapter Two

A Few Good Mews

"Everything's quiet so far." Lettuce reported to Keiichiro and Ryou when her shift at the café was over. "I did hear that there was a girl who was winning all her swimming races, but there wasn't anything unusual behind it."

"I haven't heard anything either." Zakuro said, dropping her tray into the sink and taking off her apron.

"Be ready in case you do." Ryou said while looking out into the seating area. "If there's a Mew out there, we need to find her before there's real trouble."

"Is Ichigo here yet?" Lettuce asked as she took off her apron and hung it on a rack. "She and Mint are scheduled to work next." At that moment, Masha, Ryou's former pink puffball of a robot flew into the café and began beeping wildly. "Kirema Anima! Kirema Anima!"

"What? Now?" Lettuce asked.

"You two go with Masha and find out what's happening." Ryou ordered. "I'll try to contact the other Mews."

"Right." Zakuro and Lettuce said in unison and ran out the back door, the pink ball of fluff in tow.

"Excuse me folks," Ryou said over the intercom that led to the cafe, "for a short while we will be closing. Upon reopening, however, there will be free drinks for an hour. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation." A collective groan was heard from the seating area, but Ryou had other things on his mind.

At that point Keiichiro came up the stairs from the basement and Ryou immediately went over to him. "What is it?" He asked.

"There's something on the monitor I think you'd want to see." He said, beckoning him down into the basement.

"Right here." Keiichiro said, pointing to the monitor screen, where a flashing light was indicating.

"Yeah, it's a Kirema Anima alright." Ryou said sighing. "Right now Lettuce and Zakuro are on it. We need to contact the other Mews."

"Ichigo, Mint and Pudding are already there, fighting it." Keiichiro said in a calm voice. "Ichigo already reported that over Masha's transponder, they were on their way to work and it just appeared in front of them. However, there is something else there as well."

"Well, what is it?" Ryou asked impatiently.

"Wait, Masha just got there and is sending us footage." Keiichiro replied, opening a file that was flashing on the screen. At once, the window on the computer opened and showed a battle between the Mew Mews and a fly Kirema Anima being fought. Around the scene, people were screaming and running for their lives.

"What is it you wanted to show me?" Ryou asked hurriedly.

"That girl." Keiichiro said, pointing to the monitor. On the screen, a girl with dark red hair was standing amid the smoke and debris watching the battle play out. On her face was a look of awe and wonder.

"What about her?" Ryou asked, confused, and angry that his friend was wasting his time on something that seemed so trivial.

"Keep watching." Keiichiro said, the calm in his voice making Ryou even more crazy with impatience. All of a sudden, when Ichigo was dismantling the monster with her Sutoro Bell Bell attack, the red-headed girl seemed to flicker for a second. For a brief period, she seemed to possess red dog-like ears and a bushy tail.

"Are you sure?" Ryou asked, understanding now why Keiichiro brought this to his attention.

"Yes, her genetic make-up must be reacting to the battle scene. And look at her face, it's blank. She must have no idea that it's going on." Keiichiro finished.

"Tell the Mews to report here immediately after the battle." Ryou said to his friend. "If they follow her when she doesn't even know she's a mew, then she won't come willingly. Better if we find out a bit more about her."

"I'll get right on it." Keiichiro said with a smile. "I'm glad she finally decided to show up."

"Me too." Said Ryou, "Perhaps now we can understand what's really going on."


	4. Naming of the Mew

Chapter Three

Naming of the Mew

"Sit down girls." Ryou said as soon as the five super heroines entered the café.

"What is it now?" Ichigo asked, her eyes drooping a little from exhaustion, she was always tired these days.

"Why don't you all have a cup of tea and Ryou will explain." Keiichiro said as he carried a tray out of the kitchen. The tray was laden with mini cakes and cups as well as a pot full of tea.

"Mmm, this hit's the spot." Mint said as she sipped her tea.

"Pudding! Be careful with the sugar!" Lettuce yelled as the girl spun the container on a long thin pole. Zakuro on the other hand, stared silently ahead ignoring the monkey-like acrobat's antics and waited for the gentlemen to explain.

"Now girls, before she disappeared, you were warned by Mew Momokio that you had to find another member of your team. Correct?" Ryou said.

"Yeah." Ichigo said. "Your point being?"

"My point being," Ryou replied, "that Keiichiro and I think we found her. Actually," he said, "she found you."

"Could you perhaps explain a little more?" Lettuce asked.

"At that last battle there was a girl on the sidelines." Ryou continued.

"So? There were a lot of people on the sidelines." Mint said with a bored sigh. "What's so special about this one?"

"This one had a reaction to the battle you were fighting." Keiichiro broke in, causing the girls to become surprised.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Pudding rang out. "We got a new partner! We got a new partner! So where is she?" She asked the men, looking around expectantly.

"She's not here." Ryou said calmly. "She actually doesn't even know she's a Mew yet. But here's a picture of what she looks like. You all are going to have to work together on this and persuade her to join your team." He said, pulling up a close-up photo of the girl on a drop-down monitor in front of them.

"Oh my gosh!" Ichigo said, dropping her teacup so that it clattered on the ground, spilling tea all over the place.

"What is it?" Ryou asked.

"I know who she is." Ichigo replied in a whisper. "I can't believe it! It's my cousin. She's been visiting for the summer from America. She's just got here the other day."

"Good, then you can get close to her and convince her." Ryou said easily, closing the matter and signaling the girls to get ready for their shift.

"Yeah, Ichigo, don't hold out on us!" Mint said in her usual manner, putting on her waitressing uniform.

"I'll try, but I won't promise anything." Ichigo said, picking up her apron "She can be stubborn some times."

Ryou walked out of the room calling back to her, "I wonder where she gets it from."

When he was out of the room, he turned around and looked at Ichigo through a crack in the door as she took a tray out and began serving customers that had began filing back in to the reopened café. He sighed to himself, knowing that he could never tell her how he felt, especially now that Masaya was in the hospital. He turned around and went to find Keiichiro. Things were getting complicated, and the discovery of a new Mew meant that it wasn't going to get any easier.

Ryou found Keiichiro in the basement looking over footage of previous battles to see if the mysterious girl was at any of them. Oddly enough, she was at two others, which Keiichiro pointed out to Ryou. "Huh." Ryou said. "This must have been during previous visits to Ichigo." He continued, becoming engulfed in this information. It was a while before he remembered why he had gone down there in the first place.

"Keiichiro, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me." He began quietly.

"Of course Ryou, what is it?" The older gentleman said in a kind voice.

"Ichigo's husband, Masaya is in the hospital." He said with some difficulty. "They can't figure out what's wrong with him, but I thought that you might take a look at him."

Keiichiro smiled slowly. He, like much of the other staff at Café Mew Mew, knew Ryou's feelings toward Ichigo. Ryou didn't know this however, and it was a delicate matter, so Keiichiro didn't bring it up. Instead he smiled at his friend and said, "Of course, I'll go over there on my way home tonight."

"Thanks." Ryou said with a sigh. He was glad that that was over, now he just had about a billion other things to worry about. #1 on the list- making sure Ichigo didn't scare off her cousin.

The pun in the title is "the taming of the shrew" a story by Shakespeare. I changed it a little, and think its cute. MY STORY!


	5. New Mew Number 2

Chapter Four

New Mew Number 2

"Where are we going Ichigo?" Suika asked her cousin. "You promised me you'd show me around Tokyo again. And I want to know what went on the other day. What was that thing, and who were those girls who were fighting it?"

"Oh, um…"Ichigo began, not knowing exactly how to answer the questions being thrown at her.

"I saw them the last two times I was visiting you too." Suika continued. "You promised, oh and how's Masaya?"

Ichigo froze for a second at the mention of her husband's name, but not wanting her cousin to see the effect on her, she continued walking down the street. "I want to show you were I work." Ichigo said, switching topics.

"Awww, the school again?" Suika groaned. "I'm here for the summer, I'm supposed to be _out_ of school."

"No, not the school." Ichigo said, taking Suika by the arm. "I work somewhere else too."

"Really?" Asked Suika, her face perking up a bit. "Where?"

"Here." Ichigo said, stopping in front of the pink Café Mew Mew. She took her cousin inside and they made their way through a maze of tables and chairs, empty because the café had not opened yet.

"Where are we going? I mean it's cute and all, but are we supposed to be in here?" Suika asked anxiously.

"It's fine, I want you to meet some people." Ichigo replied, taking her down into the basement. When they reached the bottom, they were greeted by Ryou, Keiichiro and the rest of the Mew Mew team.

"Hi." Suika said uncertainly.

"Welcome, my dear." Keiichiro said, crossing the room and placing a kiss on Suiko's hand.

"Ooh, I like him." Suika said out loud, getting a laugh from the crowd.

"Knowing Ichigo," Ryou began, "she probably hasn't filled you in on anything right?" He asked Suika.

"Fill me in on what?" Suika asked, giving her cousin a sidelong glance. Ichigo however, was making a point of looking at her shoes, ignoring her cousin's stare.

Ryou sighed heavily and walked across the room from where he had been sitting. "My name is Ryou." He introduced himself. "That's my partner Keiichiro, this is Mint, Lettuce, Pudding and Zakuro. Keiichiro and I own and run Café Mew Mew and these girls, along with your cousin, work here. But that's not all they do. You see," he said, taking a deep breath, "there are aliens on earth. You saw one yesterday. For some reason, they keep popping up even though their masters left years ago. In order for the city, and even the entire world to survive these attacks, a group of superheroes had to be formed. That's were these girls, and now you, come in."

"Wait a second." Suika said, shocked. "You mean this is a secret lair for a team of superheroes who fight evil monsters and protect the city? And my cousin Ichigo is a member of this team?"

"I know it's a lot of information…" Ryou started, but Suika interrupted him.

"How come you never told me you were a superhero?" She shouted, turning to look at Ichigo. "All those letters and phone calls and you didn't even mention it once!"

"Well that's the thing about having a secret identity." Mint said. "It must stay a secret."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Suika said, thinking about it. "Wait a second," she thought, "how can I be a Mew? Did you all just suddenly become mews too or what?"

"No, it's a bit more complicated then that." Ryou stated. "These girls were injected with DNA of various animals and that is how they became Mews. You however," he continued, looking at her confused expression, "are something rare. You didn't need to be injected with anything. For some reason you are a "natural mew". That is to say, you have naturally mutating DNA inside you which has chosen to fuse with a certain animal. What is that animal Keiichiro?" He asked, turning to his friend by the console.

"The Rare Ruby Wild Dog." Keiichiro confirmed, pulling up the animal's statistics on screen. A picture came up featuring a small coyote looking dog, with dull red fur and large ears. "The Ruby Wild Dog has not been photographed in nature for over half a century." Keiichiro said. "It is believed to live in small dwindling packs on the continent of Australia, and at last count there were only one hundred left." He finished, turning back towards Ryou and the girls.

"Wow." Suika said, trying to take all this in without running out the door screaming. "So what do I do now?" She asked, looking lost.

"Well, you can start waitressing here as soon as possible." Ryou said, his eyes unwavering from her face. "We are sure that there are more aliens out there to fight, but until we come up with anything concrete, we need you to be available at a moment's notice. Since you are staying with Ichigo, you should probably work the same shifts as her so you're not alone and a potential target. That means starting now." He concluded, handing her a box which contained a waitress' outfit in a deep red color. "Now you and Ichigo should go change, we open in five minutes. The rest of you, go get some rest, you'll need it."

As Ichigo was leaving to don her outfit, Ryou caught her by the arm and dragged her to the side.

"What is it Ryou?" She asked, in a confused voice.

"I had Keiichiro stop by the hospital the other day to check on Masaya." He said in a low voice. "After about an hour of running tests, Keiichiro has confirmed that something inside Masaya is scrambling his DNA. It might just be an after effect of becoming Deep Blue, but it's not good, and has the potential to become worse. Don't cry!" He hissed at Ichigo, noticing tears welling up in her eyes. "I need you to act normal around the other girls so they don't get distracted, especially Suika."

"I'll…I'll try." Ichigo said, her voice shaking as she wiped her eyes on her frilly apron, and walked out of the room with her head held high. Ryou sighed heavily and turned around to find Keiichiro staring at him with one of his all-knowing smiles.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." Keiichiro said simply, and walked away shaking his head slightly.

_Note: I don't actually know if there is any such animal as a Rare Ruby Wild Dog. I just thought the name sounded good, and would match Suika's hair color (a deep red). There might be such an animal, but I completely made up all the information…..like I said, it's my story…..so there._


	6. Message From a Mew

Chapter Five

Message From a Mew

The first few weeks that Suika worked at Mew Mew café passed quietly, and without interruption. The newest of the mews spent her time waiting on tables, training with the other mews and looking up articles about their past encounters. One night, when the café was closing up, Suika noticed Ryou staring at Ichigo wistfully, not knowing that anyone else was watching him.

"Hi Ryou." Suika said, coming up behind him and causing him to jump.

"Suika." Ryou said, trying not to imagine what would happen if she had caught him looking at Ichigo.

"So you like my cousin." Suika said simply, stating the obvious and causing Ryou to turn a bright shade of red.

"No," he said, "I.."

"It's pretty obvious." Suika said, giving him a look. "Basically everyone else at the café can see the way you zone out whenever she's near. And that constant teasing? If there was ever a bigger sign of your affections, that would be it."

"I would thank you to keep out of my personal life!" Ryou yelled at her and made to leave when Suika caught him by his arm.

"Ryou, I didn't mean it like that, and you know it." She said, glaring at him. "The only person at the café who doesn't know is probably Ichigo. She can be thick-headed sometimes." She said thoughtfully. "Anyway, don't worry, you're secret is safe with me. Just remember a few ground rules though." She said, taking on a more serious tone. "First of all, she is my cousin, so if you hurt her, I'll have to go Super Mew Mew on your butt. And second of all, she _is_ married to Masaya, and she definitely still has feelings for him. I don't think anyone would think much of you if you made a move on her while they're still together. And lastly, there are more important things to worry about besides your feelings. For instance, the aliens that are still attacking earth for some reason." She concluded.

Ryou slumped slightly, realizing that everything that she spoke was the truth, and she wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't important. "You're right." He said simply. "When I started this project, I swore to myself that I would never do anything that would cause Ichigo or any of the other mews harm. And I'll stick to that promise."

"So have you found anything new?" Suika asked while wiping a stack of plates that had been left to dry.

"No, not yet." Ryou replied. "But Keiichiro and I have been pouring through huge stacks of data trying to figure out what is going on." At that moment, Keiichiro appeared at the top of the stairs that led to the basement. His usual calm and collected appearance had been lost, and he was panting, "Ry….Ryou….you need to come….see this…and…and bring the girls…"

Ryou knew that something was up immediately and ran to the doors that separated the kitchen from the seating area. "Girls, get down to the lair NOW!" He yelled, causing Ichigo to jump and Lettuce to drop a whole stack of dirty dishes. At once they dropped what they were doing (in Lettuce's case- literally) and ran down to the basement to find out what was going on. They were greeted by a shimmering image on the giant computer screen that filled the wall. Their former teammate, Mew Anzu a.k.a. Mew Momokio waited patiently for all of them to arrive before she began speaking.

"Greetings, my friends." She said, her voice echoing as it had before. "I have returned to you, as I said I would, when you would need me most. I see that you have found your teammate," she continued, smiling at Suika, "very good. I had a suspicion that it was someone close to you. Now that you are all together, the tests will begin. I cannot give you much information about when they will occur, I can only offer a little information. Follow it as you see fit:

The ocean will rise

When the sun must fall,

And in order to save it all,

Look to the moon

And look to the waves,

When courage and love is strongly displayed,

Only then will the earth be safe

And only you six can determine it's fate.

Now, I have done all I can do." She finished, and with that she closed her eyes and faded once again into nothingness.

It was Suika who broke the silence that followed. "What kind of information was that?" She asked. No one answered her, and she was left to wonder.

"Ryou," Keiichiro whispered to his friend, "I think you should see something." He left his friend's side and went over to a book shelf on one of the walls. From it, he took a dusty tome, and flipped to a marked page. "On my travels before I joined Ryou's father- and later Ryou- with the Mew Mew Project ," he said out loud so all could hear him, "I came across a bookstore who dealt with ancient texts and found this. It is a book on Japanese mythology, which described six warriors who could take on the form of animals to defeat demons..."


	7. The Mew Truth

Chapter Six

The Mew Truth

At this, Ryou raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

Keiichiro continued, "They were only defeated when the demon lord pulled the moon out of its original position and the land was flooded, killing the warriors and himself in the process. All was supposed to be at peace until the warriors rose again. Then the demon would rise again, looking once more to create his idea of paradise."

"Paradise? Doesn't that sound like a good thing?" Ichigo asked.

"He said _the demon's idea of paradise_." Ryou said. "What do you think paradise is for a demon?"

"Exactly." Keiichiro confirmed. "He wanted the earth to be shattered with deep canyons, spewing forth hot magma and lava from within, causing the sky to fill with ash, killing all plant and animal life." He paused here and took a deep breath. "I didn't connect the dots right away when Ryou's father's planned to create warriors to battle Kish and the other aliens. They were a separate threat and had their own ideas for planet earth. But I finally saw it, and I knew that once the Mews were created to defeat those aliens, it was only a matter of time before the demon would return. So I joined the research team, looking for the girls who would save the planet not once, but many times. That is why when there were still only five of you after you defeated the aliens, I went to find the sixth one. I thought that it would be Anzu Katoya, so I injected her with the genetic material of the Giant Panda. However, I was mistaken. I had obviously not done my research well enough, or I might have discovered that it was Suika who we needed. And for failing to realize that, I am sorry." He finished, his head bowed with guilt and apology.

Ichigo crossed the room in swift steps, and for a second, Suika feared that her cousin's temper had gotten the best of her, but instead of striking the gentleman, she merely placed her hand upon his shoulder.

"It's alright, Keiichiro." She said. "No one could have known that Suika was the one we needed. Not even me, her cousin."

Keiichiro looked up and around the room. For a moment, his and Ryou's eyes met. Yes, they had much to talk about in the next twenty four hours, and in order for their problem to be solved, _everything _needed to be told.

"Thank you for coming today." Ryou said, turning to the girls. "You can go now if you want, Keiichiro and I have some research to do. If anything comes up, you will be informed immediately."

Lettuce and Suika made to leave, but Ichigo lingered behind, hoping to catch Ryou alone for a second.

"Ryou," she whispered, pulling him aside, "have you made any more progress with Masaya?"

Silently, Ryou cursed to himself. Of course he had forgotten all about Ichigo's husband, and he thought for a second if it was intentional or not. _Of course not_ he thought to himself _I don't want Ichigo to be hurt_. He slowly shook his head, and the pink-headed girl sighed heavily.

"You won't forget about him will you?" She asked, and Ryou tried not to show how shocked he was at how accurately she read his mind. "I know you two have had your differences in the past," she continued, "but please, anything you can do to help him…." she said, trailing off into silence.

Ryou nodded back to her. "Yes. I will do anything in my power to make him better. You can count on it."

Suika appeared in the doorway, "Ichigo?" She asked, "Are you coming?"

Ichigo gathered her things, threw a quick smile back to Ryou, making his heart skip a beat, and left with her cousin.

"Do you want to talk?" Keiichiro asked his friend, who had gone over to a monitor and sat down.

"We definitely will have to." Ryou replied, "But not right now, I have some other stuff to work on."

"I understand." Keiichiro said simply, and walked to the doorway where he paused for a second, "Don't stay up to late." He said, and left.

Ryou smiled, even after all they'd been through, Keiichiro still looked after him as if he was a little boy. He turned his complete attention to the screen in front of him and went to work. If he was going to help Ichigo, then he needed to do it fast. He worked late into the night, pouring over the data that Keiichiro had found while running tests on Masaya. He couldn't find anything that would cause a continuation of DNA scrambling, and that only made him more frustrated. _There's got to be something here that I'm missing_ he kept telling himself. _What aren't I seeing?_ After a few more minutes, he felt his eyelids getting heavy. _Can't sleep_ he thought drowsily, _Can't sleep….can't slee….._ and with that, his eyes finally drooped shut, and brought him to a dream….

_shattered images flashed in front of him….a giant monster….bodies lying on the ground….a shout of warning reached his ears, and then a wail of despair….a shadowy form loomed before him, twisting in agony….all of a sudden, he felt liquid confidence flow through him, he looked down at himself and saw that he was Alto….he knew what he must do…..he took a giant leap and heard someone calling his name….Ryou….Ryou….._

"Ryou!" Pudding once again yelled into his ear.

Ryou jumped up, startled at the noise and looked around. He was in the basement of the café and the screen before him was blank. He groggily turned around and found Pudding staring intently at him, her golden eyes dancing. "What is it Pudding?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"I talked to Zakuro last night." She said matter-of-factly, balancing on one hand on her ball. "She told me to tell you something. Guess what?" She continued.

"What?" Ryou asked, not in the mood for guessing games.

"You're not going to guess?" Pudding asked.

"Pudding…" Ryou said making it clear that he wanted to know right now.

"Oh fine." Pudding said, pouting. "She wanted me to tell you that she won't be able to come to work for a week, she's filming a new commercial….."


	8. Clearing the Air

Chapter Seven

Clearing The Air

The girl continued to chatter on and on, clearly not noticing that Ryou wasn't paying attention. Instead he was contemplating what this would mean to the team. If anything happened, he knew that everyone would be needed at once. He figured that Zakuro probably knew this too. That girl didn't miss a beat when it came to strategizing.

"I'm sure it will be alright." Pudding said, finally noticing that she had lost Ryou's attention. "I mean, we do got the other girls and everything. Besides," she said mischievously, "you've got the Great Pudding Fong!" She emphasized, displaying her gymnastics routine. This brought a rare smile to Ryou's face and he got up from the computer, tossed her a piece of candy and headed up the stairs. _Some days…_ he thought. At the top of the stairs, he was greeted by the image of Keiichiro and Suika chatting while he piped icing onto a mini cake. They stopped abruptly when he entered, and Ryou knew at once something was up.

"Okay you two, spill it." Was all he said.

Keiichiro looked at Ryou and sighed. "Suika found out about Masaya being in the hospital." He said simply. "She was asking me what it was all about."

"I have a right to know." Suika said defiantly. "He is my cousin's husband."

"You're right." Ryou sighed and thought back to his research last night. "If we find out any more information, you and Ichigo will be the first to know. Did you hear about Zakruo?" He asked, changing the subject.

Keiichiro nodded. "Yes, she said if anything happens while she's filming, she's going to leave the shoot to come back as quickly as possible."

"Good." Ryou said and walked out into the seating area. Mint was sitting there, looking over a dance magazine when she noticed him walking towards her.

"I heard about Zakuro, if that was what you were going to ask." She said as he approached.

"Actually," he replied, "I was going to ask you to get ready for your shift."

"I might as well. It doesn't look like Ichigo's here yet." She said, getting up and bringing her magazine along with a cup of tea into the kitchen.

Having a moment to himself, Ryou sighed and sat down for a second. The dream that he had last night came back to him, and he thought it over. A tap on his shoulder made him turn around to find Keiichiro staring at him. "We have to talk." He said instantly, and Keiichiro nodded and followed him silently back into the basement

"Did you really join the Mew Project to defeat this demon?" Ryou started when they reached the bottom of the steps.

"Yes." Keiichiro confirmed. "At first it was just to stop the aliens, but later I realized what would happen when that task was over."

"That's why when the Mew Project was over, you continued searching for another girl, so that there would be six warriors instead of five?" Ryou asked.

"Yes. I was sure everything pointed to Anzu Katoya, that is why I injected her with the DNA. I wasn't counting on you to find her before I could present her to the team." Keiichiro said.

"Now, I have one more question." Ryou said, looking his long time friend and partner in the eyes.

"What?" Keiichiro asked solemnly.

Ryou took a deep breath and sighed, "Do you think they stand a chance?"

His friend smiled at him and said without doubt, "I believe it with every fiber in my being." Ryou smiled back and they headed upstairs.

The day passed slowly at Café Mew Mew, Ichigo, Suika and Pudding all worked diligently waiting for the time the place could close and they could go home. Even Mint worked hard for once (except for taking a half hour for her daily tea) and they were all grateful at 5:00 when the doors were shut and they could get off their feet. At that moment though, when they were about to head out, Lettuce came rushing in, holding a portable TV in her hands.

"Stop! Stop!" She shouted. "Guys, there's a Kirema Anima attacking Zakuro's filming site!" And sure enough, on the small screen Mew Zakuro was battling a giant Bird-like alien. She was getting beaten badly and desperately needed help.

"Girls, go!" Ryou yelled and the five of them ran out the door. It was only a few blocks to the commercial location, but the area had been blocked off and was swarming with security.

"How are we ever going to get in?" Suika worried.

"Like this." Ichigo said, smiling at her. Then she shouted, "Mew Mew Strawberry Metamorphosis!" and was engulfed in pink.

"Mew Mew Mint Metamorphosis!" Mint yelled donning her blue outfit.

"Mew Mew Lettuce Metamorphosis!" Lettuce agreed, becoming enshrouded in green.

"Mew Mew Pudding Metamorphosis!" Pudding concluded, being wrapped in yellow.

"I guess I have no choice but to follow." Suika said, smiling at the girls who were now transformed into their battle costumes. "Mew Mew Suika Metamorphosis!" She shouted, and was transformed into her dark red battle costume, complimented by a bushy dark red tail and large floppy ears.

"Way to go Suika!" Pudding yelled and bounded over to her to give her a hug.

"Thanks, I guess." Suika said, embarrassed a little.

"Don't worry," Lettuce said, "you'll get used to it."

"Guys?" Mint asked. "Don't we have some butt to kick?"

"Follow me." Ichigo said, jumping over the barricades used to keep people out. They ran a few more feet and came upon the battle just as Mew Zakuro was knocked to the ground. She was bruised and beaten, but she had enough strength to notice the others show up.

"Nice of you to come." She said. "Now how about we defeat this thing?"

"Ribbon Pudding Ring Inferno!" Pudding shouted, using her attack to immobilize the giant bird.

"Ribbon Lettuce Flash" Lettuce yelled, causing the bird to become disoriented.

"Ribbon Zakuro Puree!" Zakuro shouted, wrapping her purple whip around it.

"Ribbon Mint Echo!" Mint joined in with, shooting a laser of light towards the beast.

"You're turn!" Ichigo yelled to Suika. "Just say the first thing that comes to your head."

" Red…Red Ruby Recorder!" Suika said, and in her hand an ornately carved recorder materialized. It was covered in roses and thorns and was glowing slightly. "Ribbon Watermelon Delight!" Suika yelled, and began to play the instrument. All at once, a hauntingly beautiful tune emerged, and almost instantly the Kirema Anima's eyes began to droop. A few seconds later, it was sleeping and motionless.

"Ribbon Strawberry Check!" Her cousin yelled and separated the bird from the invading alien.

As Masha recovered the alien, the six girls returned to their normal state and convened on the ground.


	9. A New Mew Evil

Chapter Eight

A New Mew Evil

"That's quite an attack you have there." Zakuro said quietly to Suika when they met up.

"Yeah! It was totally awesome!" Pudding yelled jumping up and down.

"I don't even know where it came from." Suika admitted shyly. "I just did what first came to mind."

"Well, it worked." Mint said blandly.

"Speaking of work…" Zakuro started, intending to say that she had to get back to hers, but was interrupted when the ground began to shake.

"What now?" Ichigo whined. All of the girls turned around while trying to keep their balance. What they saw made all of them gasp and Lettuce almost fainted with fright.

There was a huge fissure forming in the ground with steam and debris spewing from it. In the middle of the mess, a shadow emerged. The fuzzy outline defined itself into a body which was like that of a human with the legs of a horse. The creature's torso was accentuated with pointed wings and two red eyes glowed evilly through the steam. A low rumbling started and steadily grew louder until an ear-splitting roar filled the air.

"The world has changed…" the demon roared, "but no matter! I will make it mine in due time!" And with that, a stream of fire flashed from his finger tips and singed the very earth itself. He looked around and saw the six girls cowering in front of him. "Ah," he sneered, "my old friends." His grimace was the things nightmares were made of. Again blasted the ground, vaporizing a car that stood between him and the Mews.

"Girls, you know what to do!" Ichigo yelled, and within minutes, they had all transformed into their battle costumes again.

Zakuro attacked first. "Ribbon Zakuro Puree!" She yelled and threw her whip out to tangle the demon up. However, upon touching the beasts' flesh, the whip was instantly heated to a great intensity. After a few seconds, the wolf-girl was thrown back by a great force, and she crumpled to the ground, not moving.

"Zakuro?" Mint and Lettuce cried at once. The girl in green rushed over to her friend's side and lifted her out of the way of another stream of fire.

"This is for hurting Zakuro!" Mint yelled, jumping up and getting ready to attack. Within a matter of minutes though, she to was badly beaten and had to be lifted up and supported by Suika.

"Ichigo! This isn't working!" Suika yelled to her cousin. "If we keep doing this, we're all going to get killed!"

Ichigo knew this was true, but she couldn't forgive herself if she left this…this…_thing _on the loose. Ignoring the terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, she nodded and yelled to the others, "Fall back!"

At once, she and the others fled the scene, with Lettuce carrying Zakuro, and Mint being supported by Suika. The demon's laugh filled their ears and Ichigo couldn't help notice that everyone was in tears.


	10. A Shred Of Light

Chapter Nine

A Shred of Light

As they were making their way up the path to the café, Ryou spotted them and they looked so forlorn and weary that he didn't even have the heart to tease Ichigo like he usually did. Pudding and Lettuce were both in tears and Mint winced every time she took a step. Zakuro still had not regained consciousness, and Ichigo looked lost.

"I…I…I didn't know what to do…." She said helplessly, looking into Ryou's azure eyes.

"Shhh." He said, wiping away the tears that had gathered on her eyelashes. "You did the right thing. You looked after the other girls and got them out of there before the situation got any worse."

"But….but….Zakuro…." Ichigo said, but Ryou hushed her.

"She'll be fine." He said. "Keiichiro can look at her and she'll be good as new in no time. I don't know if she'll be able to do any of her work soon, but she will eventually."

"What can I do to help?" Ichigo asked.

"Go see Masaya," Ryou said. Even though the words tore him up inside, he saw a look of happiness dawning on Ichigo's face. "Masaya needs you the most right now. Leave everything else to me and Keiichiro. Oh by the way." He said, removing a small glass vial from the pocket of his white pants. "Slip this liquid into the first thing Masaya has to drink. It's .25 Mew Aqua Keiichiro found left over from before, and a mixture that I concocted that should stop his DNA from scrambling."

"Oh, Ryou!" Ichigo yelled, amazed that through this hardship he was still able to bring some light to the situation. She swung her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. Aware that everyone else's eyes were on him (Except Zakuro's, as she was still unconscious), he patted her shoulder awkwardly and gave her the clear liquid when she released him. "Good luck Ichigo." He said as she ran out the door, "And goodbye." He said under his breath.

_If I could write you a song/ with all the right words/ well then would these black clouds begin to burn up the moment you heard/ If I could make you a map/ would you find your way home/you know you can't keep me alive and leave me alone/ tell me I'm yours, tell me your mine/ tell me I'm anything but fine/ tell me a story, tell me the time/ tell me a lie_

"What was that all about?" Mint asked, smiling smugly through her pain.

"I just gave Ichigo something to help her." Ryou said quietly and turned to face Keiichiro. "Put Zakuro in the room downstairs and monitor her closely. Her Mew DNA should heal her quickly but keep me informed. Mint, you should go with them hand have your ankle looked at." He said. "Ill be up in my room." And with that, he ascended the stairs and closed the door to his room.

Sitting at his computer, he looked at the footage Masha had instantly sent to him when the demon appeared and tried to figure out the answer to Mew Anzu's riddle. He didn't hear Suika knock a few minutes later, or when she entered. He whirled around when she tapped him on the shoulder and looked amused when he saw who it was." Does anyone in your family ever knock?" He asked, remembering the time when Ichigo entered his room unannounced.

" I did knock." She said simply. "That was a sweet thing you did." Suika continued in a low voice. "I haven't known you a long time," she admitted, "but I saw in your eyes how much you loved my cousin. I'm guessing you didn't like Masaya that much either, so that makes what you did doubly sweet." She concluded, looking into his eyes.

"Ichigo deserves someone safe like him." Ryou admitted, not believing the words even as he spoke them. "It's what's best for her."

Suika let the subject go and looked past Ryou to the computer screen. He followed her gaze and looked back at her.

"How does all this stuff work?" She asked.

He smiled and explained to her in detail which programs did what on his computer and how the components worked together. She sat there patiently listening to what he said, and when she had a basic understanding, she began to suggest answers to the problem that Ryou was trying to solve.

"Do you really want to try to help?" Ryou asked her.

"Well there's not much else I _can_ do, now is there? Not with Ichigo visiting Masaya and two of the Mews out of commission." She said seriously.

Ryou thought about it for a while. He usually worked alone, but he was smart enough not to refuse help if it was offered. "Fine." He nodded and began to reveal his theories to her.

A couple of hours later, Keiichiro knocked at the door and entered. "Zakuro has stabilized and should be up within the hour." He said. "And Mint has made a full recovery as well once her Mew genes kicked in."

"Thanks Keiichiro." Ryou said, giving his friend a grateful smile. Keiichiro smiled back and let himself out of the room .


	11. A Mew Plan

Chapter Ten

A Mew Plan

"Ryou, I've been thinking." Suika said.

"Excuse me while I alert the media." Ryou said jokingly.

"Hey! I'm trying to help here!" Suika protested. "If you don't want my help just say so." She said crossing her arms in a huff.

"What were you thinking?" Ryou asked, curious.

"Well now I just might not tell you." She said looking at him. He turned back to the monitor and she sighed. "Fine, if you insist. I was thinking about what Keiichiro said."

"About Zakuro?" Ryou asked, not sure where this conversation was leading.

"No, baka." Suika said. "About the demon lord. He said that he killed the warriors by pulling the moon out of orbit and flooding the land. Well, if we could pester him enough that he could do it again, we might be able to destroy him as well."

"That's incredibly reckless!" Ryou shouted, standing up quickly and knocking over his chair.

"Oh, like you've never done anything reckless before…..Alto!" Suika shot back at him.

"How do you know about that?" Ryou shouted.

"Hello! Ichigo's my cousin remember?" She yelled back.

"Well this could affect thousands of people! Thousands could die, not just one person!" Ryou yelled.

"And if we don't do anything, thousands of people could die anyways! So which would you rather have it be? Do something reckless and save at least some people, or do nothing and not save anyone at all!" She screamed. They both fell silent, panting with frustration and maybe something more. The air around them seemed to crackle with intensity.

"I won't let you do anything that could endanger the others." Ryou said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

"Uh, Ryou," Suika said matter-of-factly, "I think danger's in the job description. I mean, when are we ever _not_ in danger?" She asked, her eyebrows raising.

Well, she had him there. Ryou paused, a few minutes more, thinking Suika's plan over. It _was_ true that the demon was destroyed last time, and maybe, just maybe if this plan worked, Keiichiro and he could devise a way to keep him from coming back. Finally, he looked back and met Suika's gaze. "It's true. Right now this plan is all we got. However, I _will not_ do approve of it until we get input from all the other girls. Then, and only then will we make a decision, understand?" He asked, giving Suika a serious look.

"Fine." Was all Suika said in reply, and they both headed back downstairs to reveal their strategy to the other girls.

"Does everyone remember what to do?" Ryou asked through Masha's transponder.

"For the last time, Ryou yes!" Ichigo replied back. Ever since Ryou and Keiichiro had healed Masaya, she had been back to her normal self, which of course included bickering constantly with Ryou. He was delighted at this change, but reminded himself mentally that he could no longer be secretly in love with her for both her and his sanity. Instead, he focused at the task at hand and making sure everyone stayed alive.

After telling all of the girls what their choices were, they had taken a vote. Pudding and Suika, as well and Mintand Zakuro had imediatelysaid yes. Only Lettuce and Ichigo seemed to have any reservations, but in the end, they too agreed.

"Okay." Ryou responded. "Everyone get in position and wait for my signal. The six girls were transformed and ready for battle at the latest spot to be ravaged by the demon ; Ryou and Keiichiro were two blocks away in a car equipped with a portable lab and tracking computers.

All of a sudden, a thunderous roar filled the air and scattered the smoke that had been rising from a pile of ashes that had once been an entire office building.

"Bothersome warriors!" The demon screeched and sent a wave of flames in Lettuce's direction. The girl dodged them quickly and aimed an attack at the monster's eyes. Momentarily blinded, the monster let out a wail that would shatter glass. It then looked around and flung a stream of fire towards Pudding. She too, avoided the wall of heat and bounced off of Suika, trying to attack. That was their great plan: show up wherever the demon was and avoid attacks at all costs-only attacking when they had gotten clear. By doing this, they hoped to push the demon so far that he would resort to the moon-pulling tactic.

"Ichigo look out!" Mint yelled.

"On it!" Ichigo bellowed back and did a double flip to avoid another attack.

"I think he's leaving!" Lettuce screamed, and sure enough, the monster thrust his great wings and took off into the sky, sending one last look of pure venom at the girls and yelling, "Next time, you'd better be ready! I hope you all know how to swim!"

"Did you get that?" Zakuro asked Ryou and Keiichiro.

"We sure did." Keiichiro's voice answered. "I guess that means he's getting ready to do what we thought. I guess he's counting on us not to know what he means."

"Girls, report to the café, we've got to go over the final part of the plan." Ryou spoke.

"Always barking orders." Suika teased, and shook her head as the girls made their way back.

"Ryou's like that." Ichigo said. "He won't even give me a raise!"


	12. The Beginning

Chapter Eleven

The Beginning

"Alright" Ryou began as everyone was seated in the lab below the café, "now Keiichiro believes and I agree that the demon is ready to make his move. Now if you look at this map," he indicated, pointing to a screen that had dropped from the ceiling, "around this area there had been the most activity. By triangulating these spots, we can determine that the demon's base is right here. Now, this is probably where he will be doing whatever it is to pull down the moon, so we need to be there. Now, there will be a massive tidal wave occurring afterwards and we need the demon to be caught up in it."

All of the girls nodded. They already knew most of this information.

"Now Lettuce, you will be positioned on the beach, right?" Ryou asked her.

"What!" Ichigo, Mint, Suika and Pudding cried. "When was this arranged?" Ichigo asked.

"Um, Ryou thinks that because I'm fused with the finless porpoise, I might be able to control the flow of the water." Lettuce explained, her face reddening with embarrassment. "We already talked about it last week, and…and I agreed to do it."

"Lettuce! That's extremely dangerous." Mint said.

"I know. But if I believe I can do and have confidence, I think I can pull it off." She replied, smiling faintly.

"Well, if it's already decided, you'll have our support 100." Ichigo said, patting her friend on the back.

"Be careful!" Pudding said. "I still need to have someone to show my tricks to when this is all over!"

"Yeah, be careful." Suika added returning the smile.

"Getting back to the subject." Ryou said, drawing their attention once again. "While Keiichiro is getting Lettuce in position, the rest of you will need to distract the demon so he doesn't suspect what's going on." He said, looking at the girls. "I will be near by to monitor the situation and help out if necessary.

"When will all this happen?" Suika asked.

Ryou and Keiichiro looked grim. "If our calculation are correct," Keiichiro stated, "it should sometime with 24 hours starting…now."

"So we might only have 24 hours left to live if this thing fails?" Pudding asked, her cheerful demeanor gone and looking like she was about to cry.

"Yes." Ryou replied softly. Everyone in the basement was silent for about ten minutes. Ryou was just about to suggest that they leave when a siren went off and flooded the lab with red light and noise.

"what's going on?" Lettuce cried, her face going white.

"It's happening." Keiichiro replied, paling as well. "It wasn't supposed to happen this fast!" He cried, looking to Ryou for support.

Ryou took charge of the situation immediately, even though he felt like he was going to throw up any second. "Keiichiro, Lettuce! Go NOW!" He yelled, snapping them out of their paralysis. They rushed out the door, and the group heard tires squealing a few seconds later. "Masha! Go get Zakuro! The rest of you, come with me!" He yelled, taking a case from the closet and rushing up the stairs. The four girls followed them and they ran out the main entrance.

Outside, the sky had grown dark and menacing with patches of clouds. The moon, however was visible, and already seemed unusually large. _I don't know if we can make it_ Ryou thought to himself. He pounded down the sidewalk leading the girls to the point where all the action was supposed to take place. _I hope Keiichiro has gotten Lettuce into position. I know she can do it._ Finally after eight blocks, Ryou stopped and the girls almost ran into him. Ichigo was panting visibly.

"Ryou, why do you have to run so fast?" She asked, managing to ask a question and whine at the same time.

"You're just out of shape." Ryou shot back, and before she could retort, turned away from her and began looking at the tops of buildings.

"What are you looking for?" Pudding asked, interested.

"That." Ryou said simply, pointing to a skyscraper. A small storm cloud shooting lightning seemed to be converging there. In the middle of it all was the demon, arms and wings outstretched, and a look of pure madness on his face.

As Ryou was about to tell the girls to transform, a huge bolt of lightning crashed down in front of them.

"Ahh!" Mint screamed, and jumped back-right into Zakuro who had just shown up.

"Transform!" Ryou shouted and watched as the girls cried out their metamorphosis phrases. Their transforming caught the eye of the demon, who jumped from roof to roof until he was standing level with them a few yards away.

"So glad you joined the party." He sneered, "Too bad you won't be able to stay long." And with that, the battle began.


	13. A Nightmare Come True

Chapter Twelve

A Nightmare Come True

The flames that shot from the monster's eyes were white hot and singed anything within two feet of where he aimed them. Only by diving sideways did Ryou barely escape the brunt of the attack. He did not however escape unscathed-his vest was burned and he felt a throbbing pain on his chest. When he looked down he saw the sign of blackened flesh and tried not to scream out in pain.

"Ryou, are you okay?" Suika asked, rushing to his aid.

"Get away!" Zakuro shouted as another row of flames lunged at them. Suika picked up Ryou in her arms and jumped to the safety of a roof. "You know," she said smirking, "you're heavier than you look."

_What?_ Ryou tried to comprehend, and then realized how that line seemed familiar. His reply was cut short when Suika lay him down and went back to join the battle.

As Ryou looked on, the sky grew noticeably darker and the moon loomed above him. He turned his attention to the battle that was being fought and his hope soared. The girls were actually winning! Suika had used her Red Ruby Recorder, and it was having a rapid effect on the demon. Zakuro was taking advantage of the situation and had aimed a kick at the beast's chest. Mint and Pudding on the other hand were working in unison with their attacks and Ichigo looked like she was about to finish the monster off with her Ribbon Strawberry Check Surprise attack. But then Ryou saw what the girls had overlooked. A glint was reflected in the demon's eye and Ryou knew at once what was happening. It was all a feint-the demon was faking weakness to lull the girls into a false sense of security. _Damn. _ Ryou thought. Before he could warn the girls, the evil creature struck with such force that Ryou could barely understand what was happening. As if in slow motion, the beast moved faster than any of the girls and was behind them in seconds. It was as if he had teleported. With the monster behind them, the girls were now as vulnerable as ever-and the demon knew it. He thrust his arms out, shooting rivers of flames at them. Pudding and Mint went down immediately, their bodies badly burned and thrown aside. Zakuro was next, she was hit when she tried to attack the beast single handedly to no avail. Ichigo looked around and her gaze met Ryou's. In her eyes there was a look of absolute terror.

The demon followed her gaze and looked at Ryou. Before he knew it, he was a target once again. He was about to dodge the flames aimed at him, but before he could move, both Ichigo and Suika jumped in front of him. Ichigo got the worst of the attack and dropped like a stone. Suika however, was slightly shielded, but was in a worse state. While her teammates were unconscious and indifferent to the pain, Suika was experiencing it firsthand. She writhed in agony and wailed in desperation.

Ryou now understood what he must do. It was all there in his dream. It was now his turn to fight-for the safety of Tokyo, for himself, for the girls he had brought into this mess, and most importantly for the one he hadn't. The one who's company he now knew he valued the most next to Keiichiro's. Suika. He liked the way she thought, the way she was stubborn and the way she cared for her friends so deeply like him. She was just like him, and while she would never be like Ichigo, Ryou found that that didn't matter. She was at her best when she was being herself. Clearing his mind of all thought, he focused on becoming a certain gray cat. At once, his body was racked in pain as his bones shifted and stretched. He hated this part, it always made him feel weak, something he wasn't used to being. A short while later however, the pain subsided and a liquid confidence enshrouded him. He now looked at the world through the eyes of Alto-the cat with the green bandana draped around his neck.

He leaped from the rooftop and ran at the demon in front of him.

"Ryou, no!" Suika cried, watching what was happening through eyes half closed with pain.

Ryou really had no idea what he was doing. His plan had ended with transforming into Alto. He knew he had to do that, but what to do after was a complete blank. On instinct, he ran at the monster and aimed a slash attack at his eyes. His outstretched claws found their mark and he heard a grimly satisfying shriek in pain. Leaping off the creature's head, he landed on it's back and sunk in his sharp fangs.

The demon shouted and whipped around to pluck the cat off his back. He held him by the tail at arm's length so that Ryou/Alto was completely helpless. He was about to burn the kitten to a crisp when a faint yet distinct roar met his ears. He flew up to the top of a building and they could both see the wall of water that was moving towards them.

"YOU!" The monster shouted. "You will the be first of many to witness my triumph!" He flew ahead of where the girls were to meet the wave and watched as it began to overtake smaller buildings. The monster looked at the cat and laughed a hearty laugh. He did not notice that the water began to lift off the ground and aim straight for him. He was taken by completely by surprise and still holding Alto, was swept off the roof and down the empty street.


	14. Peace and Distress

Chapter Thirteen

Peace and Distress

A horrendous screech filled the air and nearly deafened Alto. The monster that gripped him was dissolving into miniscule particles as the water overtook them. Alto soon found himself free from the grasp of it as the arm that held him captive disintegrated. Being swept downstream, it was all he could do not to drown. Finally, he spied a ledge and held on to it for dear life. After what seemed like ages, the pressure of the water decreased, and he could barely summon enough strength to climb onto the level rooftop of the building. Once safe, he made the excruciating transformation back to Ryou, and ran down the access stairway on the roof. Only one thought was rushing through his head on the way down, _I have to make sure the girls are okay._ He didn't know what he would do with himself if one of them had died…if…if Suika had died.

As he ran down the street, he noticed bits and pieces of debris that had been caught in the current. Each piece was big enough and sharp enough to cut a person in half, especially if that person was unconscious. When he approached the last spot where he had left the girls, he saw that it was complete washed away. Here and there he noticed a bright piece of fabric which he recognized as the colors from their battle suits. There was nothing else. Nothing. Ryou began searching frantically for any sign of them-a weapon, a shoeprint…a…a body…but it was all in vain. _They're gone_ he realized, _they're all gone._ With this thought, he collapsed to his knees and sat there stunned. First his parents were taken from him and now this. He couldn't even cry out his pain-he was in too much shock. After a few seconds, however, it was as if a dam had burst. All his emotions that he had been holding in came streaming out and coursed down his cheeks. For a full five minutes he sat there crying as if his heart had been ripped from his body. Only when his cries of anguish had subsided to shaky sobs did he hear a shuffling sound behind him. He figured it was Keiichiro and Lettuce returning to see the aftermath of the tidal wave and he knew he should compose himself to look decent-but right now, he didn't care how he looked.

"Aww, poor Ryou, are you sad we saved the world? Cause I'd be happy to reverse the effects if that's what you really want." A familiar sarcastic voice said behind him.

_What!_ Ryou thought as he spun around to see Mint emerging from a nearby doorway. She was followed by Zakuro, Pudding, and finally Ichigo and Suika. "What the hell!" He yelled.

All the girls were smiling and looked almost fully recovered. There was still a burn mark here and there and their suits were torn a bit, but they definitely looked 100 better then they had when he left them.

"What's going on here!" He yelled. "Why aren't you all dead!"

"Sorry to disappoint you Ryou," Ichigo said, matching Mint's sarcasm, "But thanks to Suika, we're all feeling fine, thank you."

"You did this?" Ryou asked in awe, turning to Ichigo's cousin. "How?"

The girl smiled shakily. "It was my recorder." She explained, holding up her weapon. "I gathered all the girls into that building over there when I saw the wall of water rushing towards us. When we were all inside, I made sure the door was locked and that no water could get in. Then I found that it was too quiet and it was kind of eerie. So I began to play my recorder, thinking it would make the place a bit cheerier-not that the girls were awake to appreciate it." She said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, it was a different tune than what had come out of my recorder before, but it was so beautiful that I didn't want to stop playing it. That's when I noticed the girls were starting to stir and their wounds were beginning to heal. I was almost done healing them when we heard you out here." She finished looking deep into his eyes.

Before she knew what was happening and before anyone could react, Ryou had closed the distance between them and had pressed his mouth hard against Suika's. A flash of surprise went through her open eyes, but then she shrugged it off and began to kiss him back. Over Suika's shoulder, Ryou caught a glimpse of the girl's reactions as well as well as Lettuce's and Keiichiro's who had just shown up. They all hand their mouths hanging open, and Ichigo looked like she wasn't pleased with the situation, but she wasn't going to stop it. Ryou caught her rolling her eyes and looking like she was only letting him do this as a favor to her cousin.

"Aww, too bad." Pudding said, hugging Zakuro around the waist. "It looks like he doesn't love Ichigo anymore."

"What!" Ichigo screamed. "What did you say?" She asked Pudding.

"Oh come on Ichigo, you were the only one who didn't know." Mint said, and Keiichiro smirked at her frankness.

"Yeah, well, I only love Masaya." She said, getting huffy.

"That's okay," Ryou whispered, "I only love Suika now." By the way he said it, Suika knew it was true and that she felt the same way.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

"What is it?" Ryou asked Suika. They were alone in the kitchen of the café where she had asked to see him after her shift was done at the café.

She looked down and tried not to let the tears that had been building up escape. "Ryou." She started, her voice cracking.

"What?" He asked softly, putting his hand under her chin and raising it up to look her in the eye.

"I…I'm leaving tomorrow to go home." She said, blinking and setting the tears free.

Silently Ryou cursed to himself. He knew this day would be coming, but he had let it sneak up on him anyways. He knew that Suika was only visiting for the summer and that she would have to eventually have to return to her family and friends in America. "Is that so?" He asked quietly dropping his gaze.

Anger flared up momentarily in Suika. "What do you mean?" She asked, her voice filled with heat and hurt. "Aren't you going to miss me at all? Or was I just some sort of fling?"

"Of course I'll miss you!" Ryou shot back. "I just don't want to think about it because it's too painfull! It's awful okay! I feel like I'm going to puke! Are you happy now?"

"Really?" Suika asked. "I cause you pain? Awww, how sweet." She said, smiling now and embracing him in a hug. She nuzzled against him and he wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"Come on Suika. " Ichigo said, coming into the kitchen and catching them in a tight embrace. "Ewww!" She squealed and spun around so she wouldn't have to look at them. "You guys are totally gross!" She said.

"No worse than you and lover boy!" Suika said to her cousin, who turned red at the comment.

"Suika, we got to go home and get you packed." Ichigo said, remembering why she had gone looking for her cousin.

A look of longing and heartbreak was in both Ryou's and Suika's eyes as she departed. That night as Ryou lay in his bed, all he could think of was her….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"It's too bad Ryou isn't here to see you off." Mint stated the next morning as the Mew Mews had gathered to see their comrade off. Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, Zakuro, Ichigo, Masaya and Keiichiro were all standing in the air port terminal waiting for Suika's flight number to be called.

"I'm sure Ryou would be here if he could." Masaya said lightly smiling.

"Yeah." Suika replied sadly. Her flight was called at that moment and she picked up her suitcases. Before she left, she got a hug from everyone and even a special cake made by Keiichiro with her and the Mew Mew's displayed on top. As she placed the cake box on top of her luggage, she threw one more smile to her friends and disappeared into the boarding gate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The year passed without Ryou even noticing. He was much too busy to notice the cherry blossoms in bloom once again. He and Keiichiro had been running the café nonstop and their business was growing rapidly. They were even thinking of adding an addition onto it to encompass a small room with books and lounge chairs.

Of course the Mews still waitressed when they could and the demand for Mew Mew products had never been higher. Ryou hadn't noticed much of anything besides his work and his research. He didn't even notice it when the girls began to have whispered conferences during their break times. They usually got all giggly and seemed to be planning something. Something big.

On June 15, it happened. Ryou was working in the lab and the girls were all in the café. It was going slow, and no one had been in for two hours. All of a sudden, Ryou heard Lettuce scream. Running upstairs, he rushed to see what was the matter. His eyes took a few moments to adjust to the light and when his vision cleared, he couldn't believe his eyes. Before him stood Suika Momomiya, being slightly crushed with hugs and kisses from the girls. They parted however when they saw Ryou and Suika rushed up to him. She had grown slightly, but basically looked the same.

"Hi Ryou." She said softly, smiling up at him. Ryou, however, was speechless. Suika laughed and embraced him. He took pushed her back slightly and embraced her lips tenderly with his own.

"I can't believe you're here." He whispered softly in her ear when they broke apart.

"Well you can get used to it." Suika said, and his eyes widened in surprise. "I've transferred to the high school where Ichigo teaches. I'll be staying with her for till I graduate. Then we'll just have to see what happens. Are you excited?" She asked. Her response was another deep kiss, and a smile, and Suika truly felt some Watermelon Delight.


End file.
